Early gains, lingering barriers: Philippine AI Report debuts at Geeks On A Beach 2025, highlighting state of adoption

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

Cebu, Philippines — The preliminary results of the Philippine AI Ecosystem Report were unveiled last Thursday at Geeks on a Beach(GOAB)  2025, the country's leading international tech and startup conference held at JPark Island Resort in Mactan, Cebu. 

Led by AI technology expert Tim Santos, the report provides the most detailed insight into how artificial intelligence is being adopted and developed in the Philippines. It combines surveys and expert opinions from over 100 senior leaders, managers, and practitioners across various industries, offering a comprehensive snapshot of the country's AI landscape.

Executive-led, pilot-heavy

The report found that AI strategy in the Philippines is predominantly executive-led, with 61 percent of companies placing AI oversight in the hands of senior executives. Santos pointed out that while this buy-in is encouraging, it often results in a policy-first, execution-later mindset driven by fear of missing out rather than clear roadmaps. 

Most AI projects remain at the pilot stage, with 58 percent  of respondents primarily involved in proof-of-concept initiatives. “Ambition exists, but execution is frequently FOMO-driven,” Santos noted, highlighting a mismatch between ambition and available resources like talent, budget, and infrastructure, which hinders progress beyond pilots.

Employees are experiencing considerable benefits from AI, with 76 percent stating that AI enables them to spend more time on strategic thinking, and 63 percent noting that it allows for faster decision-making. Additionally, employees have pointed out a reduction in administrative tasks, less time spent on writing, and increased opportunities for innovation.

Yet significant barriers persist in AI adoption. The report identifies a lack of AI skills and knowledge (57 percent) as the primary challenge, followed by concerns about security, unrealistic expectations, and employee resistance. 

“The challenge of adopting AI is the most pressing. While employees are optimistic, organizational inertia often hinders collaboration and the broader implementation of AI initiatives,” said Santos.

Conservative spending, limited scale

The report revealed that most organizations remain conservative in their spending on AI, with the majority investing less than ₱10 million (approximately USD 170,000) annually. Only a few companies allocate larger budgets for infrastructure and scaling. 

The adoption of AI is currently strongest in “back office” workflows, with 73 percent of organizations using it for data analysis, 64 percent for automating repetitive tasks, and 59 percent for content generation. These functions are often integrated through general-purpose AI chat platforms, serving as accessible entry points for broader adoption. 

However, deeper integration into customer-facing systems and decision-making processes is still limited. Only 30 percent of respondents reported using AI for forecasting and decision-making, and even fewer have explored developer-oriented use cases, such as AI-assisted coding.

“There seems to be a mismatch between ambition and available resources, including financial and talent resources, which could limit firms' ability to scale beyond pilot projects,” said Santos. “The more widely adopted use cases are currently driven by personal efficiency gains, while deeper, core business process integration remains a significant growth opportunity,” he adds.

Building the future of Philippine AI

The presentation of preliminary findings at GOAB aligns with the conference's mission to act as a launchpad for ideas that will shape the future of technology in the country. 

“Geeks on a Beach has always aimed to spark conversations that lead to meaningful action,” said Tina Amper, the lead organizer of GOAB. “We believe that AI is the next frontier for innovation in the Philippines. The report’s findings can serve as a starting point for collaboration among the industry, government, and the startup community,” she said.

The report recommends that organizations move beyond pilot projects and focus on scaling their AI initiatives. “Companies need clear roadmaps that connect early experiments to scalable deployments. They should prioritize initiatives that address the friction points hindering progress,” said Santos. It encouraged partnering with experts who understand both strategy and execution to bridge the current gap between planning and implementation.

The report also emphasized the necessity of enhancing the strategic value of AI. Currently, most adoption focuses primarily on efficiency improvements, such as faster decision-making and reduced administrative tasks. “AI is already saving time,” Santos noted, “but leadership teams must now translate these successes into cost savings, productivity gains, and revenue growth.”

The complete Philippine AI Ecosystem Report will be released later this year at PhilippineAIReport.com. 

About Geeks on a Beach

Geeks on a Beach is the Philippines’ pioneering beachside international tech and startup conference, launched in 2013. Known for its unique blend of serious conversations in a fun, laid-back environment, GOAB has connected thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, developers, creatives, and policymakers. Over the years, GOAB has helped catalyze deals, investments, and partnerships that continue to shape the Philippine and Southeast Asian startup landscape.

This year’s GOAB was held on October 1-3, 2025, at JPark Island Resort Hotel in Mactan, Cebu. It is organized by the non-profit group geeksPH with the support of its foundational government partner, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).

The Battle for the People's Peso: Diokno's Crusade Against Budget Corruption

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

A former Finance Secretary sounds the alarm on fiscal mismanagement—and offers a bold roadmap to reclaim the nation's financial soul

The question hung in the air like an accusation: "Where does the people's money go?"

It was October 1, 2025, and inside the venerable Manila Prince Hotel, former Finance Secretary Benjamin "Ben" Diokno wasn't mincing words. The man who spent decades navigating the treacherous waters of Philippine economics had come with a warning—and a battle plan.

The Moral Crime of Corruption

Diokno's message struck at the heart of a crisis that has plagued the Philippines for generations. Every peso siphoned off through corruption, he declared, represents not just a financial loss but a moral theft from the nation's most vulnerable citizens.

"Every peso lost to corruption is a peso stolen from the Filipino people," Diokno thundered. "When funds meant for classrooms, hospitals, and roads are wasted, it is the poor who suffer the most."

The statement carries devastating weight. Behind every diverted budget allocation lies a child learning in a crumbling classroom, a patient turned away from an understaffed hospital, a community isolated by impassable roads. The abstraction of "corruption" becomes viscerally real when measured in these human costs.

A Ten-Point Revolution

Rather than simply cataloging problems, Diokno arrived armed with solutions—a comprehensive "Ten Rules for Fiscal Consolidation, Responsibility, and Accountability" designed to fortify the budget process against manipulation at every stage.

The framework reads like a constitution for fiscal integrity, beginning with respect for the Development Budget Coordinating Committee's guidelines and ending with the ultimate democratic check: Congress's power to override presidential vetoes. Between these bookends lies a detailed architecture of transparency, accountability, and institutional discipline.

What makes Diokno's proposal revolutionary is its insistence on radical openness. He demands that both the House and Senate versions of the General Appropriations Bill be immediately published for public scrutiny. More audaciously, he calls for the Bicameral Conference Committee meetings—where House and Senate differences are traditionally hammered out behind closed doors—to be thrown open to public observation.

This is transparency as a weapon against corruption.

The Digital Defense

Diokno envisions technology as the ultimate guardian of fiscal integrity. His call for "full digitalization of government processes" isn't merely about modernization—it's about creating an immutable record, a digital trail that corruption cannot erase.

In this vision, every peso flowing from national coffers to intended beneficiaries would be tracked, traced, and verified. The opacity that allows funds to vanish into phantom projects or padded contracts would give way to crystalline clarity. Technology, Diokno suggests, can accomplish what human oversight alone cannot: perfect memory and perfect accountability.

The Citizen's Mandate

Perhaps most powerfully, Diokno refuses to let responsibility rest solely with government institutions. He issues a call to arms for ordinary Filipinos, insisting that safeguarding the budget requires "active participation from civil society, the private sector, and the media."

"Oversight works best when people remain vigilant," he declared, transforming budget monitoring from a bureaucratic function into a civic duty.

This democratization of accountability recognizes a fundamental truth: corruption thrives in darkness and public apathy. When citizens treat the national budget as someone else's concern, they surrender their most powerful tool for holding leaders accountable.

Beyond Personalities, Into Systems

Diokno's most sobering insight addresses the fragility of reform efforts that depend on individual integrity rather than institutional design. The Philippines has seen waves of anti-corruption crusades rise and fall with the political fortunes of their champions.

"We must institutionalize reforms so that accountability does not depend on personalities but becomes part of the system itself," Diokno emphasized.

This represents a pivot from the cult of personality that often dominates Philippine politics toward something more durable: systems that outlast any single administration, leader, or reform movement. It's the difference between a temporary cleanup and permanent infrastructure.

The Economic Imperative

Lest anyone dismiss fiscal transparency as merely a good-governance talking point, Diokno connected it directly to national prosperity. A clean, accountable budget process, he argued, isn't just about preventing theft—it's about creating the foundation for sustainable economic growth.

When investors can trust that government projects will actually be built, when businesses know that contracts will be awarded fairly, when citizens believe their tax payments will fund actual services rather than private mansions—that's when economic confidence takes root.

"A clean, transparent, and accountable budget process is the foundation of a stronger Philippines," Diokno declared in his closing statement, framing fiscal integrity not as a constraint on growth but as its essential precondition.

A Simple Promise

For all its technical complexity, Diokno's proposal ultimately rests on a straightforward promise: "If susundin lang natin ang ten rules that may help to get back towards fiscal consolidation, responsibility and accountability and good behavior—magiging okay na ang Pilipinas."

If we just follow these ten rules that help restore fiscal consolidation, responsibility, accountability, and good behavior—the Philippines will be okay.

It's a statement of remarkable optimism from a man who has witnessed decades of fiscal mismanagement. But it's optimism grounded in specificity. Diokno isn't offering vague platitudes about "political will" or "cultural change." He's offering a concrete checklist, a practical manual for institutional reform.

The Lifeblood of Development

The metaphor Diokno chose—calling the national budget "the lifeblood of our country's development"—reveals how he understands the stakes. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body. When blood is diverted or poisoned, organs fail and the entire organism suffers.

So too with the national budget. When properly allocated and honestly spent, it nourishes education, healthcare, infrastructure, and all the systems that allow a society to flourish. When corrupted, it starves these vital functions, and the nation itself weakens.

The Choice Ahead

Diokno's appearance at Kapihan sa Manila Prince Hotel represents more than just another policy speech. It's a challenge to the nation's leadership and its citizens alike: Will we continue accepting budget corruption as an inevitable feature of Philippine politics, or will we finally treat it as the intolerable crisis it represents?

The former Finance Secretary has laid out the blueprint. The question now is whether anyone has the courage to build from it.

As Diokno well knows, the hardest part of fighting corruption isn't designing better systems—it's confronting the entrenched interests that profit from broken ones. His ten rules threaten cozy relationships, hidden deals, and the comfortable opacity that allows powerful people to help themselves to public funds.

The battle for the people's peso, it turns out, is also a battle for the nation's future. And Benjamin Diokno has just drawn the battle lines with uncommon clarity.

The only question that remains is: Who will join him on the right side of history?

This forum, organized by Manila Hotel President and former Senator Atty. Jose "Joey" D. Lina, Jr., continues its tradition of providing a platform for critical national dialogues, bringing together government officials, experts, journalists, and concerned citizens to confront the challenges facing the Philippines.

BIR extends tax deadlines to aid taxpayers affected by Cebu Earthquake

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue, following the instruction of Commissioner Lumagui, has announced the extension of deadlines for the filing of tax returns and payment of corresponding taxes, as well as the submission of other required documents, in light of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the province of Cebu on September 30, 2025.

Taxpayers and BIR personnel under the jurisdiction of Revenue District Office No. 80 (Mandaue City, Cebu), No. 81 (Cebu City, North), No. 82 (Cebu City, South), No. 83 (Talisay City, Cebu), and No. 123 (Large Taxpayers Division - Cebu), including their Authorized Agent Banks, shall benefit from the extension of all deadlines falling within October 2025.

All tax obligations falling due within October 2025 may now be filed and paid on or before October 31, 2025, as provided under Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 88-2025. The complete list of covered BIR forms and returns is enumerated in the said Circular.

“This extension allows our taxpayers sufficient time to comply with their tax obligations without adding to the burdens caused by the calamity. This reaffirms our commitment to responsive, compassionate, and excellent taxpayer service, especially during times of crisis,” said Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr.